Abraham Ibn Ezra on Elections, Interrogations, and Medical Astrology

This volume offers the first critical edition of the Hebrew text, with English translation and commentary, of seven astrological treatises by Abraham Ibn Ezra: the Book of Elections (3 versions); the Book of Interrogations (3 versions); and the Book of the Luminaries. This volume, then, covers the astrological doctrine of elections, which is concerned with finding the best time to begin a particular activity; the doctrine of interrogations, designed to allow astrologers to reply to questions related to daily life; and the astrological theory behind the doctrine of the critical days, when marked changes take place in the symptoms of a disease. These three systems of astrology were combined in a single volume because Ibn Ezra considers them to be closely interrelated.'Despite these quibbles, Shlomo Sela is to be congratulated for making Ibn Ezra's astrological treatises available in a modern edition of very high quality.'Bernard Goldstein, University of Pittsburgh